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[Mr Swordfish]

When ripping a CD the software hung at some percentage and would not respond.  Attempting to end the process using task manager resulted in an access denied message.  Restarting the computer would not fix the problem - I got the message that MC was already running.  I needed a hard reboot (unplug the computer) to get MC to run again.

I upgraded to v32, but the problem persists. It is a specific CD that is problematic (actually there are three today that exhibit this behavior.) I've attached the log file.

Windows 10, 64bit, MC v 32 (just downloaded the latest version)

[JimH]

Let it run.

It's possible the CD is copy protected.  Not common but possible.

Antivirus can also be a problem.

[Mr Swordfish]

MC ripped the first six tracks then just spun for a half hour.  So, I don't think it is copy protected.  Meanwhile, MC finished playing the song it was playing and then went silent and wouldn't respond. 

I ripped the CD using iTunes with no problems.  It's a well-used CD, so it's understandable that MC would  have trouble with it, but a more graceful failure mode would be an improvement.  I've seen it do this probably a dozen times or so when ripping a "marginal" CD.

[Matt]

Switch out of secure mode if the disk is really hashed.  It might just not be able to get a secure rip on some discs.

[Mr Swordfish]

Interesting....

It was set to normal, but I don't recall ever changing that setting.  Could be why I have so many files that didn't rip accurately and that glitch and sputter on playback.


I've set it to secure for future rips. 

Bottom line is that if the disc is damaged there's not much MC or anything else is going to do about it.

[Frobozz]

Some CDs are going to be problematic to rip. Either because of scratches or other reasons.

When I have a CD that won't rip properly I try ripping using a different CD drive. Sometimes the other drive will be able to rip the CD. If that doesn't work then I try a different CD ripping program, like EAC. EAC uses a different secure ripping algorithm and can sometimes rip a CD that another ripping program gets stuck on. And vice versa. Sometimes another ripping program will rip a CD that EAC gets stuck on.

My strategy is to have at least two different ripping drives from different manufacturers that are known to be reliable ripping drives. Different drives with different manufacturers and firmware will read through errors and problems differently. Then try different ripping programs if that doesn't work.

I've ripped a couple thousand CDs. And that's the strategy that I've found to work.

[Frobozz]

A comment about the value of having 2 or more different ripping drives from different manufacturers.

Back in the early 2000s I had a CD rip cause Windows 2000 to blue screen. I was ripping a CD using a Plextor drive. Something about that particular CD caused the Plextor drive to crash Windows 2000. A firmware update for the Plextor drive eventually got the drive able to rip that CD without crashing Windows 2000. But still wouldn't get a clean rip. I had to use a different drive to actually rip that CD.

There are times when a drive won't rip a CD or will have difficulties with a CD. And using a different drive will rip it. It's not the fault of the ripping software. It's the drive. Don't be too quick to blame the ripping software when the problem may actually be the CD drive.

The CD was Puddle of Mudd "Come Clean". It's not copy protected that I'm aware of. I don't know what the issue was with that CD. But the Plextor didn't like it. Though I have to admit that blue screening the OS is an effective, but unorthodox, copy protection.

[Mr Swordfish]

Let it run.

It happened again yesterday, so I let it sit over night.  After 12 hours  it still wasn't moving.

I understand that I can't expect MC to rip every CD that I throw at it. If the disc is defective, it's defective and perhaps another drive or ripping software will work, or not.  That's not really the issue.

The issue is the failure mode.  If MC simply reported "Sorry, this CD can't be ripped" that would be fine.  Instead, what happens is that the software hangs, the UI is frozen, using task manager to end task doesn't work, and even restarting windows doesn't solve anything.  I have to do a hard reboot by unplugging the AC power to get Windows up and running again.  If I just do a restart the system hangs at the "Restarting" screen.

In other words, when MC encounters a problematic CD, it dorks the entire OS.  That shouldn't happen. I seem to see it with about 1 in 30 CDs. Usually I can rip the CD using other software.

Logfile attached.

[JimH]

I'd buy a new drive.  They aren't expensive.  Or use another machine, just to test, if available.

Your description sounds like something other than MC is having trouble.

MC can't "dork" the OS.  A driver can.